Stop right there! Check before you drill holes, pound a nail, or drive a screw into the wall. What you can’t see, can hurt you.

Sometimes when adding electricity in older houses, or during remodeling, electrical wiring (and sometimes plumbing) is improperly installed just beneath the surface of the wallboard. This is a potentially dangerous situation due to the risk of hitting the wires or pipes while hanging a picture or shelf.

In the above photo, this unlucky homeowner found a wire for an outlet when installing a shelf on the wall. This is the reason why wiring is suppose to be located along the center of the vertical studs or center of wall cavity. It’s important to allow for some distance between the face of the wall and the wire.

If you are not sure what’s hiding behind your walls, check with a live wire detector, such as the Zircon MultiScanner, before picking up that hammer or drill.